


a city that dreams for two

by twosetmeridian



Series: twosetweek season 1 [1]
Category: Twosetviolin
Genre: Canon Compliant, Childhood Friends, Dreams, Falling In Love, Gen, Gen or Pre-Slash, M/M, Romance, Twosetweek 2019, canon compliant to real life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-06
Updated: 2019-11-06
Packaged: 2021-01-23 22:10:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,483
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21327487
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/twosetmeridian/pseuds/twosetmeridian
Summary: brett's confused over eddy's supposed childhood dream. i mean—why a fuckinglumberjack, of all things?for twosetweek day 1; prompt: childhood + dreams.
Relationships: Eddy Chen/Brett Yang
Series: twosetweek season 1 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1560604
Comments: 16
Kudos: 178





	a city that dreams for two

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into 中文-普通话 國語 available: [一城一梦一双人](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27158173) by [asukaJude](https://archiveofourown.org/users/asukaJude/pseuds/asukaJude)

> title from _find you_ by zedd.
> 
> **[ crossposted from wattpad; published 10/15/2019 ] **

**. . .**

it all starts with that innocuous interview question.

_"what were your dreams as a child?"_

brett's long known his own dream, buried deep within his chest; he's only ever been living and working and breathing towards that dream ever since the first moment he's held a violin in between his tiny palms and imagined himself on a grand stage. his life has always been all about the music, so when the question comes, his answer is succint and resolute.

"to become a soloist," brett says, voice unwavering, "and travel the world."

out of camera frame, the interviewer smiles and nods, the man seated beside him, on the other hand, delivers the punch line to a joke brett hadn't really prepared for.

"how's that going for you?"

brett's mind goes blank, and then: _oh, you little shit._

**. . .**

here's the thing: brett's dreams start and end with eddy chen, if he has to be _really_ honest with himself.

the first time he looks across the orchestra seats at his newfound friend from math tutoring, watching that excited glint in the thirteen-year-old's eyes with delight, brett feels reaffirmed. he thinks: _i'm definitely going to be a soloist._

the first time he looks across the table at the conservatory and sees eddy's eyes sparkling with promise, the beginnings of that crazy idea—of twoset violin—hanging in the air between them, brett feels his heart give way. he thinks: _oh no, i'm definitely_ not _going to be a soloist._

the first time they make a video and begin to receive recognition as a classical comedy unit, brett looks across the room at eddy's mischievous, triumphant grin and feels—he feels—

he thinks: _oh my god._ he thinks: _it's you, it's you, it's you._

**. . .**

maybe it's because brett had been expecting eddy to follow suit with the same dream of becoming a soloist that he gets completely blindsided by his friend's actual answer.

"to be a lumberjack, actually."

brett can't help it: the disbelieving chuckle comes tumbling out of his mouth before he can stop it. a taste of eddy's own medicine is at hand, then. "how did _that_ work out for you?"

despite the teasing, eddy laughs, and the matter is pushed to the side in favor of the next question in the interview. still, days after the fact, the thought continues to simmer at the back of brett's mind, bristly sharp like a particularly persistent porcupine.

why a fucking _lumberjack_, of all things?

**. . .**

"is it still bothering you?"

brett startles out of his reverie, turns to look at his best friend smirking beside him, and _no no no_, he's not giving him any inch of higher ground in this.

"what is?" brett asks. sweetly.

"the lumberjack thing." eddy shoves his hands in his pockets and rocks on his heels, back and forth. brett leans against the streetlamp and crosses his arms over his chest. "still wondering why?"

"yeah, because i thought you said you wanted to be a soloist too. remember your orientation week?" eddy had told him all about it back then when he'd first joined up with him at the con. brett still recalls that day so clearly in his mind's eye, not that eddy needs to know about that.

"well, i wasn't lying, if that's what you mean. being a soloist was my dream, but it wasn't my _first_ dream."

brett's eyebrows furrow. it doesn't make any sense. "and? what's that supposed to mean?"

eddy looks at him for a moment, gaze unreadable, before a twinkling smile sneaks its way onto his lips. "figure it out."

_figure it out_. like it's something so blatantly obvious that brett should have known about it by now. _what the fuck_.

"right," brett says in the end, but really, he doesn't get it. not yet.

**. . .**

days later, eddy suddenly deems it the optimal time to go stargazing on the roof, and brett is understandably confused about all this. they're not exactly the kind of friends who do that kind of stuff, but then the other man goes scrambling up the ladder with a pile of blankets in tow, and so he has no choice but to follow at this point.

"is this for a video idea?" brett just barely gets the question out in the midst of all the huffing and puffing he's been doing. _god_, he needs more exercise. "because if it is, then it's kinda—"

"not a video idea, brett," the taller man replies, and there's something about the way he says it that shuts brett up. it feels important. he doesn't know why, but it does.

once they're on the roof, they set up a little blanket fortress, and in no time at all, they're both swaddled like newborns and chatting about anything and everything. it's all out of the blue, in hindsight, how eddy broaches the subject of the lumberjack dream.

"really?" brett shakes his head, grin wide against his lips. of all things he'd been expecting, this is somewhere at the bottom of the list. "now?"

"hey, you wanna hear it or not?" they poke at each other for a while, laughter like tinkling notes in the air, and then silence. the air suddenly turns serious.

"it was silly," eddy whispers, words spoken so low that they're almost lost to the wind. brett has to lean in closer to hear him. brett isn't exactly complaining about that, though.

"don't say that; of course it wasn't silly."

"it was a child's dream."

"well, so was mine."

eddy tosses his head back, hair falling into his eyes as he laughs. "at least yours makes sense, right? little brett yang, dreaming to become a soloist and bring joy to hearts all over the face of this earth." he shrugs. "and then there's little eddy chen, thinking of giving up his dream to become a violinist just to build brett yang a violin to play on and a home to come back to."

it suddenly becomes that much harder for brett to breathe. he stays silent, feels as if he's on the edge of a precipice, and eddy's low tone makes the words seem all too much like a revelation.

"so yeah, maybe i just wanted to provide for you like no one else can, build you a log cabin in the middle of the fucking outback if i had to. be _essential_, somehow." eddy stops for a moment, avoids brett's stunned gaze as he continues. "i told you once that i'd follow you anywhere. and then you told me you'd bring _me_ everywhere, show me the world."

brett remembers that. he remembers it amidst rickety swingsets and chaotic duets of _the itsy bitsy spider_ on tiny violins.

"maybe little me just took that a bit too literally. took it to heart like it wasn't something you said on a whim." a chuckle, low and resigned. "and now here we are." eddy waves his hand to the two of them wrapped up in blankets, looking up at the cold night sky, its shimmering stars all alight. "and i'd _still_ follow you anywhere."

brett's heartbeat is loud in his ears. "eddy, i—"

"i know, i know," eddy interrupts, rushed as if to patch up a leaky pipe. "this is kinda weird, but—y'know, twoset is getting more traction, and we're booking actual shows, and so i guess i just wanted to let you know that."

god, what can he even _say_ to that in return?

"thank you, eddy," brett murmurs, hustling up the courage to place a hand on his friend's shoulder and squeeze. "really, i—thank you."

eddy smiles, but it isn't as bright as his usual ones. "no problem, bro. it was good to let it all out."

at that, a new dream begins to take root in brett's mind, a wild and rapturous thing: twoset playing on stages all over the world. him and eddy together, chasing their dreams—as it should always be.

"i'll always be there for you," he tells eddy, and brett's never meant anything more in his entire life than those words. "i'll bring you _everywhere_. anywhere you want. just like i promised."

it is then that finally, _finally_, he sees that beloved crooked grin lighting up his friend's face. "i'll hold you to that, bro," eddy says, turning his gaze to the sky and speaking no more.

_my dream has always been you_, brett thinks, hands shaking with the need to show the most important person in the world just how much he's worth everything. _i've always, always lo_—

but no. no, not yet.

those three little words, a soft and gentle and warm spark in his chest—brett will keep them hidden, for now. he'll give eddy everything he deserves before he tells him. in the meantime, he slings an arm around his best friend's shoulder, pulls him closer as they stargaze and dream together.

they have time.

**Author's Note:**

> [link](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0z4GBCQed4) to the interview mentioned in the story.


End file.
